Sighting device for small arms

ABSTRACT

An aiming device for handheld firearms comprises a rear notch sight and a front sight, in which case the rear notch sight (1) has an essentially trapezoidal rear notch sight cutout (6) which diverges downward from an upper edge (5), and the front sight (2) has an essentially triangular outline whose upper tip (10) bisects the upper side (7) of the trapezoidal rear notch sight cutout (6), so that an unobstructed gap (15, 16) is formed in each case between the sides (8, 9) of the trapezoidal rear notch sight cutout (6) and the sides (11, 12) of the triangular outline of the front sight (2). This provides an aiming device which quickly and unambiguously points the eye at the target while aiming.

The invention relates to an aiming device for handheld firearms whichcomprises a rear notch sight and a front sight in which case there areunobstructed gaps between the mutually facing boundaries of the rearnotch sight and the front sight, in which case the rear notch sight hasan essentially trapezoidal rear notch sight cutout which divergesdownward from an upper edge, and the front sight has an essentiallytriangular outline, whose upper tip, when the weapon is being aimed,bisects the upper side of the trapezoidal rear notch sight cutout, sothat an unobstructed gap is formed in each case between the sides of thetrapezoidal rear notch sight cutout and the sides of the triangularoutline of the front sight.

DE 21 26 068 A discloses an aiming device in which, in various versions,the rear notch sight and front sight have mutually matching (circular,diamond-shaped or X-shaped) contours and thus, when being aimed at thetarget, form at least two pairs of unobstructed gaps which include anangle between them. A pair of unobstructed gaps is associated with boththe horizontal and the vertical discrepancy, so that both discrepanciesare perceived in the same way. However, this is actually disadvantageoussince, when aiming at the target being pointed at, the pairs ofunobstructed gaps lead the eye away from the target toward the angles.On-the-dot aiming at the target is thus impossible. If the target ispassed over rather than being aimed at directly, then a considerablepart of the target is covered by the large-area front sight, thusimpeding target acquisition. This not only delays target acquisition butalso leads to aiming errors.

FR-A 342 645 discloses an aiming device of this generic type in whichthe front sight has a triangular outline and the rear notch sight has acutout which forms unobstructed gaps or triangles together with thefront sight, which disappear when the azimuth aiming errors are verysmall. Thus, overall, the unobstructed gaps are too narrow to hold atarget point, in particular a moving target point, in position during(azimuth) aiming and to guide the eye to the target point, which isconsiderably further away, at the same time as matching the unobstructedgaps, and to provide an adequate view of the target point. This aimingat the target point and matching of the gaps requires the eye toaccommodate alternately at different distances.

AT 379 447 B discloses a U-shaped aiming aid with contrasting colors.However, it surrounds a conventional rear notch sight cutout at asuitable distance. Quick, accurate target acquisition is thus impossiblesince, owing to the contrast point which is fitted to the front sight atmedium height, the view of the eye is not guided to the critical upperedge of the aiming device.

The object of the invention is thus to provide an aiming device whichquickly and unambiguously guides the eye to the target while aiming andwhich at the same time covers the target as little as possible.

As claimed in the invention, this is achieved in that the unobstructedgaps are inclined at about 45 degrees to the vertical, wherein contraststrips are arranged in the upper region of the rear notch sight and ofthe front sight and entirely or partially line the sides of thetrapezoidal rear notch sight cutout and the sides of the triangularoutline of the front sight.

As a result of the inclination of the unobstructed gaps at about 45° tothe vertical, aiming errors in both the elevation direction and in theazimuth direction have the same influence on the width of theunobstructed gaps and, when accommodating from a short distance (thefront sight) to a long distance, the eye is automatically drawn towardthe target. The two converging unobstructed gaps which are producedbetween the sides of the trapezoidal rear notch sight cutout and thesides of the triangular outline of the front sight lead theeye--assisted considerably by the contrast strips--toward the targetand, in addition, are used for horizontal adjustment. The contraststrips as claimed in the invention play an important role in matching ofthe unobstructed gaps and in target acquisition since, when the targetis brightly illuminated, they bound the edges of the unobstructed gapsand, when the target is dark, they cause it to be better emphasized.

The contrast strip on the leaf of the rear notch sight and on the frontsight is advantageously provided with luminous inserts (claim 4). Theseallow an aiming image to be identified even in darkness.

It is within the context of the invention for the sides of theessentially trapezoidal rear notch sight cutout and the sides whichoriginate from the tip of the front sight to both run in a curved shape.In this way, the unobstructed gaps are given a curved profile which isused for adaptation to particular requirements, as well as to counteractdiffraction and reflections. The sides may have concave curvature inorder to guide the view better.

The invention is described and explained in the following text withreference to Figures, in which:

FIG. 1: shows, by way of illustration, a pistol having an aiming deviceas claimed in the invention,

FIG. 2: shows a first embodiment of an aiming device as claimed in theinvention,

FIG. 3: shows a second embodiment of an aiming device as claimed in theinvention,

FIG. 4: shows a third embodiment of an aiming device as claimed in theinvention.

By way of example, FIG. 1 shows any sort of pistol, but this could alsobe a long gun as well. A rear notch sight 1 is fitted at the end closerto the person firing the weapon, and a front sight 2 is fitted to thefront end of the weapon. These sights define an aiming axis 3.

The rear notch sight 1 is a transverse metal leaf, therefore also calleda rear notch sight leaf, having an upper edge 5 from which a trapezoidalrear notch sight cutout 6 projects, which widens downward. The upperside 7 of the trapezoid lies on the upper edge.

The two sides 8, 9 are inclined outward, for example at 45°.

The visible part of the front sight 2 is formed by a triangular prismwhose tip 10 bisects the upper side of the trapezoidal cutout 6 when theweapon is being aimed at the target. From this cutout 6, the sides 11,12 extend downward parallel to the sides 8, 9 of the rear notch sight.They form a first unobstructed gap 15 and a second unobstructed gap 16.The two unobstructed gaps lead upward directly to the target point 13(for example the center of a range target).

The aiming axis 3 in FIG. 1 runs from the center of the upper side 7 ofthe rear notch sight 1 to the upper tip 10 of the front sight 2.

A horizontal contrast strip 20 is fitted on the front side of the rearnotch sight 1 and extends downward from the upper edge 5, preferably toabout halfway up the trapezoid. The front sight 2 likewise has acontrast strip 21, which is at the same height as the first contraststrip. These strips may be white, black-colored or else luminous. Theyassist target acquisition in various poor light conditions.

The embodiment in FIG. 3 differs from the preceding embodiment primarilyby the curved trapezoid sides 8', 9' and triangle sides 11', 12', as aresult of which curved unobstructed gaps 15', 16' are produced. Inaddition, the contrast strips 30, 31 may be of different shapes. Theyeach form an arrow which lines the edges 5, 8' or 5, 9' or 11', 12'.Instead of the arrows 30, 31, the edges could also be lined by contraststrips over their entire length.

When aiming at the target point 13, the tip 10 is moved to the level ofthe upper edge 5 and is placed on the target point 13, for elevationaiming. For azimuth aiming, either the tip 10 is moved precisely to thecenter of the upper side 7, or the two unobstructed gaps 15, 16 are madeto be of equal width. It is thus impossible for the weapon to be tilted.When matching the width of the two unobstructed gaps 15, 16, the eye isdrawn directly to the target point 13 by the convergence of these gaps.

While the unobstructed gaps in FIG. 3 are concave with respect to thevertical axis of symmetry, those in the exemplary embodiment accordingto FIG. 4 are convex, since the sides 8", 9", 11", 12" are curved in theopposite direction.

As is normal in the case of sharp edges when machining metals, the tip10 can be chamfered or very slightly rounded.

I claim:
 1. An aiming device for handheld firearms comprising a rearnotch sight and a front sight, in which case there are unobstructed gapsbetween the mutually facing boundaries of the rear notch sight and thefront sight, in which case the rear notch sight has an essentiallytrapezoidal rear notch sight cutout which diverges downward from anupper edge, and the front sight has an essentially triangular outline,whose upper tip, when the weapon is being aimed, bisects the upper sideof the trapezoidal rear notch sight cutout, so that an unobstructed gapis formed in each case between the sides of the trapezoidal rear notchsight cutout and the sides of the triangular outline of the front sight,wherein the unobstructed gaps are inclined at about 45 degrees to thevertical whereby the inclination and width of the unobstructed gapsreduce aiming errors in both the azimuth direction and the elevationdirection, wherein contrast strips are arranged in the upper region ofthe rear notch sight and of the front sight and entirely or partiallyline the sides of the trapezoidal rear notch sight cutout and the sidesof the triangular outline of the front sight.
 2. The aiming device asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the contrast strips are luminous.
 3. Theaiming device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sides of theessentially trapezoidal rear notch sight and those sides which originatefrom the tip of the front sight each run in a curved shape.
 4. Theaiming device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sides of the frontsight have concave curvature.